


the rain

by sweetavocado



Series: Still Standing Tall [8]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Has Anxiety (Julie and The Phantoms), Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Good Friend Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Luke and Alex are hotheaded, Luke is pissed, Mentions of Death, Multi, Why isn't that a tag?, alex is pissed, chosen family, reggie is a sweetheart, they died from battery acid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27998559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetavocado/pseuds/sweetavocado
Summary: Willie reveals who Caleb has possessed and sends Alex's nephew to keep an eye on him.Alex and Luke get into a heated arguement about their deaths while looking for a way to save Nick."It wasn’t exactly my choice though, Luke! I ingested battery acid," Alex screamed.“Salmonella," Luke insisted once again.“From what? Was the battery acid raw?” Alex asked sarcastically/
Relationships: Alex & Flynn & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie & Willie, Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Series: Still Standing Tall [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997956
Comments: 5
Kudos: 165





	the rain

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoy, sorry it took so long. school is really sucking rn :(
> 
> also, this picks up right after 'the little things'

Reggie poofed out of the kitchen while Luke, Julie, and Flynn ran outside to the studio.

Julie opened the studio doors, taking in the picture. Alex was braiding Willie’s hair and Reggie was staring at the two in disbelief. The moment was over the minute Reggie said, “And you were mad at me for outing you.”

Julie heard Luke groan.

“Dude, they were having a moment,” Luke said to Reggie.

“Well, it might be the last if Willie doesn’t tell us who Caleb possessed.”

Seeming to agree with Reggie, Luke backed down. Willie opened his eyes and sighed.

“I know who it is but I can’t tell you,” Willie said before holding up his wrist. “He still owns my soul.”

“Can you point them out?” Julie asked. 

Willie nodded. “I can do one better actually. Alex, dance with me?”

Alex seemed surprised. “Like how? What?”

Willie rolled his eyes fondly. “Remember when you were talking about you guys seeing Julie dance?” Alex nodded. “I’ll be Julie, you be Caleb.”

“Oh my god,” Alex said softly. “Nick.” Willie just looked at him with sad eyes. “Damnit Luke,” Alex hissed.

Missing what the couple was talking about, Luke looked up, offended. “What?”

“Caleb is possessing Nick,” he replied. At this, Luke inhaled and sat down on the couch.

“I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t re-”

“Stop,” Julie cut him off. “It’s not your fault, he would’ve found out anyways.”

“How did you find out?” Alex asked Willie.

“Fool came to the club,” Willie scoffed. “It was funny watching a 16 year old kids boss around 100 year old ghosts though.”

Reggie giggled lightly in the back, standing outside of the group while playing with a hole in his flannel.

Julie wiped her eyes, smiling a bit at Reggie’s antics.

Putting a hand on Julie’s shoulder, Flynn asked Willie, “How do we help him?”

Willie sighed. “Will you believe me if I said salt?” 

“Would you believe me if I told you that’s not the weirdest thing I’ve heard?” Flynn replied.

***

So here they were, sitting in the studio finding recipes with high levels of salt. Reggie and Willie conversed softly while Luke scrolled through Flynn’s Pinterest recipes.

Julie, on the other hand, flipped through her father’s cookbook for recipes. And Alex wrote down all the recipes with high amounts of salt. 

“This is stupid,” Flynn announced suddenly, breaking the relative silence of whispers and paper. “I’m calling Lex. Someone needs to be on Nick duty.”

“Whattya mean?” Reggie asked.

“I mean, someone should babysit Nick- Caleb- whatever. And Lex is the only other person who knows about all the Caleb stuff.”

“You got my nephew involved?” Alex asked with a disapproving stare.

“Obvi, gay solidarity.” Flynn rolled her eyes while flipping her hair over her shoulder. Julie looked up and gave her a look that said ‘really?’, Flynn let out a sigh. “Fine, I talk a lot when I’m drunk. But on the plus side it was just me, Jules, and Lex.”

“My nephew drinks?”

“And smokes! He taught me how to roll a blunt yesterday!” Reggie piped up.

Alex turned to his oldest friend with an exasperated look. “You let my nephew? Teach you? How to roll a blunt?” Reggie nodded happily and Alex just ran his hands down his face.“Why- okay,” Alex sighed. Turning his attention back to Flynn, he asked, “Back to the other thing? Uhm, why are we letting my nephew babysit a demon?” 

Shaking her head, Flynn replied. “He was partnered up with Nick for an art assignment. It won’t be suspicious.”

Alec contemplated for a moment, thinking it through. When he realized this was the best bet, he sighed. “Fine.”

“Awesome!” Flynn tapped away on her phone, looking for Lex’s contact.

***

Lex jumped at the sound of the doorbell. Standing up, he walked over to the front door and took a deep breath before opening it. “Nick,” he greeted. “Ready to work on the project?”

Nick smiled and nodded. “Let’s get started.”

Returning the smile, Lex led Nick back to their dining area. “So I’m thinking we can do our project on the architecture of the Roman Empire,” Lex suggested.

Nodding, Nick replied, “Sounds good.”

“Great!” Lex pulled out his laptop and watched as Nick did the same. “Should we focus on churches first?”

“We could. Wasn’t their form of art more practical as opposed to the Greeks? Could we do a compare and contrast presentation?”

“Yeah, we should,” Lex supplied. “We could go into detail about general history and connect it to how that affected their art and pop culture.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Nick nodded.

For the next hour or so, Lex and Nick worked in relative silence while they each did their own research. Lex was starting to get antsy and Caleb started noticing. He did his research, he knew this kid was related to Alex, but did he know?

“You okay?” Nick asked. The sudden question caused Lex to jump in his seat.

Smiling sheepishly, Lex responded, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You seem anxious,” Nick grabbed Lex’s hand and looked him in the eye.

Lex cleared his throat and pulled away. “I’m always anxious,” he chuckled nervously, hoping Caleb would buy it.

Nick smiled softly before turning back to his laptop. “I get it.” After a beat of awkward silence, he spoke up. “Wanna take a break?” The question made Lex turn red before he remembered that This was not Nick Evans.

“Sure,” Lex answered breathlessly. 

“Cool, come on.” Nick stood up and held his hand out to Lex, apprehensive, Lex took his hand.

“Where are we going?” Lex asked as Nick opened the door. 

“You’ll see,” Nick winked while pulling Lex out towards his car. “You’ll love it!”

Lex opened up the passenger side door as Nick walked around to the drivers side. After buckling up, Lex pulled out his phone and texted their group chat.

HGC LOOP

Me- caleb’s taking me somewhere, my snap maps on btw just in case anything happens

FlynnRide(or die)r - YOU’RE JUST FOLLOWING HIM?!?!?!

The Pretty One - What does btw mean?

Uncle Alex - Not now reggie. Lex, why did you follow him?

Me - not important, we’re pulling out now. l8ter.

Lex put his phone down and turned to Nick. “Gonna tell me where we’re going now?”

Not taking his eyes off the road, Nick replied. “I promise you’ll love it. Relax.”

Easier said than done.

***

Julie checked the group chat. “Are you kidding me? Alex, go follow them. Hopefully Caleb will just think you’re being a protective uncle or something.”

“On it,” Alex said before he poofed out.

Julie turned back to the cook book, still flipping through pages, when Luke stood up.

“Jules? I found a salted caramel cake recipe!” Luke shoved Flynn’s IPad into Julie’s face.

Taking the device, Julie looked it over. “Huh, this might work.” Luke smiled brightly at the praise.

“I’ll write down the ingredients,” Luke announced, snatching the device from Julie.

“No, have Willie do it. He has the best handwriting.”

Luke pouted. “I’m sorry for the Eats & Beats thing, but I was trying to hurry.”

“You’re always trying to hurry. You never stop moving,” Julie chuckled fondly. 

“Whatever, Alex thought it was cute at least,” Luke sniped. 

Reggie scoffed, “He was just trying to get you off his back. After showing up in tears after his parents threw him out, you kept asking if he ever thought you were cute.”

“Luke!” Julie yelled, scandalised. “That’s like the worst possible reaction!”

“I was trying to cheer him up,” Luke said defensively. “Plus, I already knew he was gay. He told me and Bobby months before that night.”

“Still pissed about it,” Reggie grumbled. 

“Get over it, Reg.” Luke said. “Now let’s get baking,” he said to Julie.

***

“Woah,” Lex said as he stepped into the diner. Caleb had taken him to a small diner off the pier. The outside looked a little run down, but the inside was warm and cozy.

“Yeah, I come here whenever I need a break from everything.” Nick took Lex’s hand and led him to a booth. “You wanna talk about what’s stressing you out?”

Lex inhaled sharply. “It’s just- it’s a long story. Just family stuff,” he responded.

“Oh,” Nick responded. “Sorry for pushing.”

“It’s fine-”, Lex was cut off by a waitress who had made her way over to them.

She was dressed in worn out jeans, a yellow tee with an old band printed on it, converse, and an apron. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun, a pencil stuck in it. Fixing her glasses, she pulled out a small notebook and the pencil out of her hair. “Hi, welcome to Johnny’s! I’m Bella and I’ll be your server today, can I get you boys anything to drink?”

Nick spoke first, “I’ll have a green tea please.”

“Okay,” Bella responded. “And how about you?” She asked, turning towards Lex.

“I’ll have an iced tea please,” Lex replied with a smile.

“Got it,” Bella said. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

After Bella was out of earshot, Nick started speaking. “You sure you’re okay, Lex?”

“Yeah, just some family issues,” Lex assured. “I’ll be fine.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Nick asked.

“I’d rather not. My grandparents aren’t worth the words.” As Lex said this, Caleb remembered some more of his research on Alex’s family- and he agreed wholeheartedly with Lex’s sentiment.

“I’m sorry,” Nick said honestly. Before he could say more though, Bella returned with the drinks. Nick thanked her as he grabbed his cup, but almost dropped it when he saw a familiar face walk into the diner.

“Oh, hey Lex, Nick,” Alex greeted. Smiling brightly, although a bit forced, Nick returned the greeting.

“Hey man,” Lex replied while fistbumping the ghost. “You know Nick?”

Alex nodded, “Yeah.” He nodded his head towards Nick and said, “We’ve met in passing.” Turning to look at Nick, Alex teased, “Julie talks a lot about you.”

Nick chuckled awkwardly. “Oh. Uh, didn’t know you guys would be in town still.”

“Yeah, we’re thinking about transferring. Make things easier for the band. Although the hologram stuff is cool, it’s a lot of anxiety wondering if the wifi would suddenly crap out like it did at the school dance.”

“I remember that,” Lex said. “Poor Nick here just thought Julie was suffering from stage fright,” Lex laughed. Alex gave a tight smile back, now knowing why Lex was in the drama program. He doesn’t know if he should be scared or proud that his nephew was such a good liar. 

“Well, I ought to let you guys get back to ordering,” Alex said awkwardly, glancing at Bella who just gave him a small smile in return. “Uh actually,” he turned to Bella. “I have a pickup order for Peters? Where do I go?”

“The bar, sweetie,” she responded while nodding her head in the direction of said bar. “Jackie wil help ‘ya out.” Alex nodded at her before waving goodbye to the boys.

“So, what can I get ‘ya?”

Alex poofed back into the studio with the food. “Here’s your food that you can’t eat, Reg.”

Reggie shot up off the couch. “Thanks man!” Opening up the bag, Reggie basked in the smell of the freshly made fries and brownie. “Ugh, this smells amazing,” he praised. “Julie? Flynn? Want some?”

“Why don’t you guys try eating again?” Flynn asked. Julie glanced at Reggie, who looked excited at the idea. But Julie was keeping her promise, and noted the way he breathed through his nose, how he held the bag a little further away, and how he glanced towards Alex’s hand.

Before Reggie could say anything though, Julie cut in. “How about later? We can try drinks first.” Trying to lighten up the mood, she added, “Don’t need any Reggie vomit on the floor to clean up.” And apparently that was the wrong thing to say as Reggie plopped the bag down and Alex flexed his hand.

“You’re right,” Reggie said quickly. “I’m a, gonna go get a water,” he said before poofing out. Julie chanced a look at Alex, whose hand went slack. 

“I’m sorry,” Julie said softly. “I shouldn’t have-”

“No,” Alex cut in. “It’s not your fault.” He took a deep breath. “We never told you about our death.”

“Dude,” Luke called softly. “We don’t have to.”

“No! We do,” Alex yelled. “Did you not just see that? She was trying to help Reggie, cause no matter how much he jokes, we know he’s scared to eat again. The last two times we ate, we either died or almost got erased from existence! Julie wants to help! How can she if she doesn’t know what happened?”

“She doesn’t need to know, it was just food poisoning,” Luke replied. “Just some regular salmonella!”

“It was battery acid, Luke!”

The room went silent. Luke glared at Alex. “We agreed not to tell anyone,” he gritted out.

“We didn’t just throw up some hotdog and choke, Luke! We threw up blood! I watched as Reggie spit out a bloodied piece of his esophagus that the acid burned out! I held his hand as he tried to cough even though his lungs stopped working! And I held his hand when they pronounced him dead!”

“I watched both of you die!” Luke cried. “I watched as you just stopped trying after Reggie went! You left me!”

“Reggie was all I had!”

“You had a family!” Luke retorted.

“After Alyssa didn’t come looking for me after Mom and Dad kicked me out?”

“You had me and Bobby!” Luke was full on sobbing. “You left us!”

“Reggie was the reason I had you guys!” Alex bit. “He was the reason I was proud to be who I was! I told my parents I was gay when I was 14! 14!” Alex was now sobbing. “Even after my father spit on me, even after my mother told me she should’ve left me on the steps of the church, I still had the balls to come out to Reggie! You know what he told me? He asked why I was crying if I was so happy! And even after I explained that I liked boys to him, he just hugged me and promised once gay marrige was legal, he’d marry me if I wasn’t in a solid relationship just to piss off my parents! He bought me one of those 25 cent rings the next day just to prove it!”

“Don’t act like me and Bobby weren’t supportive,” Luke accused. 

“But Reggie was the reason you had a chance to be supportive! And I knew that Reggie couldn’t be alone wherever he was!”

“What about me?” Luke inquired.

“I wasn’t thinking about you, Luke!” Alex screamed. “I was thinking about how I couldn’t live without Reggie! It wasn’t exactly my choice though, Luke! I ingested battery acid!”

“Salmonella!”

“From what? Was the battery acid raw?”

“You fucking dick!” Luke screamed.

“I’m the dick? You’re in a relationship with a girl who you’re just gonna leave! Did you think about that? Julie’s lost her mom, and eventually she’s gonna lose us too!”

“No, you’re the dick because you brought Julie into this,” Luke yelled. 

Willie and Flynn both looked at said girl who just looked down at her feet.

“Her fake relationship with my gay nephew is healthier than her relationship with you!” Alex pointed a finger accusingly. 

“God! Stop being such a priss! Your mom had the right idea, then maybe you never would have met you boyfriend and Reggie and I wouldn’t have almost been killed again because of him!”

The three other people in the room gasped slightly at Luke’s words.

“You selfish little bitch, out of the three of us- you were the only one with parents that cared. Emily only wanted the best for you and you left! Then you went ahead and killed your best friends because you forgot your wallet in the middle of your tantrum! You killed us, Luke! Stop making it my fault when it’s yours!” Alex screamed.

At this, Luke paused. His angry face morphed into hurt before he poofed out. 

The room was silent while Alex angrily wiped at his tears. Reggie chose that moment to walk into the studio, though.

“Hey, so this water bottle says ‘spring water’, does that mean-” Reggie stopped short when he saw Alex’s face. Setting the water down, he walked over to Alex. “Hey, Lexie,” he called softly. “What happened?” Reggie used his flannel sleeve to wipe away some of Alex’s tears. “Did Luke say something? You know how he gets,” Reggie said.

Willie now stood behind Reggie, sensing this, Reggie turned to face Willie before looking back at Alex. “Hey, Lexie? Do you wanna braid Willie’s hair? It probably doesn’t smell like lemons the way ‘Lyssa’s did, but remember what you said the other day? About how his smells like the lilacs in your mom’s garden?”

Alex nodded.

“Wanna braid his?”

Alex shook his head. “I need to apologize to Luke. And talk with Julie and Willie for a moment.”

Reggie took Alex’s hand. “What happened?”

“I told Luke that he killed us,” Alex whispered, a dazed look in his eye.

Reggie inhaled sharply at that. “I’m sure he said some much worse than that,” Reggie said lightly. “He gets hot headed pretty quickly.” 

Alex just shrugged.

“Plus you guys fight all the time, it’ll be fine Lexie. Just let him cool off.” Reggie said all this while running his fingers through Alex’s hair.

Oh.

Julie realized.

Alex really couldn’t live without him.


End file.
